Home Early

After two fun days and two freezing-cold nights at the cottage, the kids and I decided that we wanted to sleep in our own beds tonight. It's supposed to rain tomorrow anyway, and we can play all our rainy-day board games at home just as easily as we could have at the cottage.

IT'S GOOD TO BE HOME! We have all taken steaming hot showers and are relaxing in our nice clean pajamas. The cherry on top - for the kids anyway - is that there is still no school tomorrow. Life is good.

The cottage was a positive experience overall. I say overall because of course like any other life experience it was representative of what life is: ups and downs. We did all the fun cottage-y things we wanted to, spiced with a pinch of argument and a dash of disobedience. That's putting it mildly.

The cottage belongs to the family of some friends of ours and is located on the shores of the Bonnechere River near Eganville, Ontario. We got out there early enough on Saturday night that it was still light out, and we had a very nice supper, all cooked over a campfire. Here is a picture of what the place looks like from the fireside:

And here is a reverse angle, taken from the woods by the river's edge:

As you can see, there is lots of open space for the children to run around in. I think it is the first time we were out there so early in the year that the fields were still bare. Usually, they are grown about waist-high and we really have to stick to the road to get down to the river and back. Another wonderful plus this weekend: no bugs! That was certainly a blessing. :o)

We spent all of yesterday outside, building the fire, playing down by the river and exploring the old barns, the boathouse and the woods around the property. We saw a beaver dam, wild turkeys and some really cool predatory birds which I will have to try to identify as I'm not sure what they were, but they circled over the fields very close to where we sat by the fire. The water wasn't turned on yet since the winter, so we had to haul it up from the river by bucket so we could flush the toilet and wash our hands. There were some tiny little life forms swimming in the bucket that the boys took quite an interest in thanks to a huge magnifying glass from the dollar store. So, all in all, a very enriching experience for the children.

Today was not as sunny as yesterday, it even rained a little, but it was perfect kite-flying weather. I even got to be a hero when I rescued one of the kites from the branches of a tree when the wind gusted so strong that the string broke and the kite took off. My only gripe personally is that my super-cute Hatley rubber boots leak! Gah! I think they are still okay for wearing on rainy days, but they do have a hole in them so wading in shallow water is a no-no. I found that out the hard way while wading out to a big rock to sit on in the sun. But the time I got out there, my socks were soaked. Here is a picture of the rock that was so inviting we couldn't refuse:

Besides all the fun we had, I have to admit there were times when I was less-than-happy. There were the moments when the kids started arguing (I can't even remember what it was about) and when they were all very much in synch, but saying and doing such inappropriate things that I was torn between bursting into tears and deciding then and there never to leave the cottage, never to let them out into the world, and certainly never to let them near television, radio, or school friends again. I mean, when did my eight-year-old learn to dance while grabbing his crotch and where did he learn songs with such vulgar lyrics that I wouldn't even listen to them?  He wasn't the only one singing either. The other two were singing along just as happily. It really upset me. They have no idea what they are saying. It is heartbreaking to hear such filth come out from between such innocent lips.

Then, of course, there was the disobedience, like when First Son climbed along a fallen tree lying on a steep slope with glass and rusted scrap metal below it. (I think we must have stumbled across an old garbage dumping site. Blech!) Well, up he climbed despite my forbidding it and promptly fell off. My heart nearly stopped. I was wondering what would be worse: a broken leg, an arm cut open, or tetanus? I decided that the worst thing was that I have no authority when it comes to my kids. So much for my super parenting skills. :/ I recognize danger, I warn them about danger, and then they go and ignore my earnings anyway... When first Son fell off the log and rolled down the slop, he hurt himself and cried. I climbed down to him and helped him climb up. Fortunately, he was unharmed, and although he did cry, he was soon right as rain after a sympathetic hug and a kiss from Mommy. But when I gently reminded him that I had told him (TOLD, not asked!) not to climb up there in the first place, he just shrugged it off and said, "But I wanted to climb it." He was totally unresponsive to my pointing out that when I tell him not to do something, it is to keep him safe, not to ruin his fun, but he just won't accept it. It made me a little angry, I admit, and I almost told him to go ahead and climb the log again, but not to come crying to me when he fell. Luckily, I bit my tongue. But the temptation was almost overwhelming.

Luckily the running around (and the climbing...) tired the children out very well. In the evening, we watched they sky change colors and sat a while by the fire before heading inside to go to bed. The cottage has no heat, but I piled lots and lots of blankets on everyone, so no one's toes were cold and we all slept well. Here are two of the last pictures I took last night. The first is of the evening sky. The second is called "Sneaking Downstairs While Everyone Is Asleep To Put Out The Loot." :D This morning was Easter Sunday, after all. 

A small disclaimer: none of the chocolate is actually from me. My family is responsible for that. I bought the kids non-edible treats, since I have noticed in recent years that although they beg for the huge chocolate soccer balls and pirate ships, they don't end up eating them because they don't really taste all that good. So I got Daughter a watch because hers is old and the band is about to give way; First Son got some circus balancing plates he has been asking for for a long time, and Second Son got a camping chair. The funny thing is, because I wanted to give my sister, my parents and my brother's girlfriend credit for the chocolates they gave the kids (the brown package is from my parents in New Jersey), I went and bought some small Easter chocolates that I put out on a separate table for the kids. Those were from the Easter bunny. lol What can I say? The boys still believe. I wouldn't want to disappoint them. ;) 

This post is getting rather long and my eyelids are getting rather heavy, so I feel I must write something Supermom Smart to end with. Here goes:

We plan a lot of fun things to do with our children. We plan these activities for them. We know this, they may not. My advice is to try to enjoy the good times, and overlook the "less-good" times (I draw the line at saying "bad") because I am sure that the kids will remember the good times and the fun things that they did. I truly doubt they will grow old and say, "Remember that time I fell off the log and Mommy was really angry?" I am sure that memories about wild turkeys, little squiggly things squirming around in a bucket of water, and feeling so grown up to be in on the Easter Bunny secret with Mommy while the boys are still clueless will stick with them much more. So why not hang on to those memories ourselves, as parents? Ultimately, we deserve some nice memories too.